*Along the Berounka river to Krašov castle and the medieval church of St Peter & Paul: 6 km to 24 km*

• The Berounka river, which flows through much of west Bohemia to join with the Vltava near Prague, has many scenic stretches and historic landmarks along its banks. Some of the riverside monuments, like Křivoklát and Karlštejn castles, are major tourist destinations, but there are other much less well-known landmarks which are worth seeking out.
• Two of these hidden Berounka gems are the Gothic (13th century) castle ruins of Krašov, situated on a rock escarpment near the village of Bohy, and the restored medieval chapel of St Peter & Paul, which sits on the river floodplain at the site of the vanished medieval village of Dolany. Both are open for visits seasonally, but usually only at weekends in spring and autumn. The two sites can be combined together on a single walking trip, including a visit to the brewery town of Kozojedy.
• One of the attractions of a visit to the St Peter & Paul chapel is that next to it is a well-known mobile snack bar, Obžerstvení u kostela, run by a former chef at the Prague Michelin starred restaurant, La Degustation. The snack bar is also open seasonally from Spring to Autumn. The chapel is definitely worth a look inside as there is an interesting display of archaeological findings dating back over two thousand years.
• The only difficulty constructing a walk to visit these two sites is that there is no ideal circular route, which results partly in a ‘there and back’ walk, or a one-way walk involving catching a bus back from the village of Chříč (but buses at weekends are rare). Starting and finishing in Kozojedy (which has bus connections with Plzeň train station) results in quite a lengthy 24 km trip, with nearly 500m of height to ascend/descend on a mix of forest tracks and asphalt country lanes.
• With access to car transport, visiting these sites becomes easier and can shorten the walking time considerably. There is a parking area a few hundred metres from the St Peter & Paul church (map point 10), so for those not wanting a long walk, then consider just doing a circular walk to Krašov (there is a 6 km or 11 km version outlined in the directions section below). Jump in the car to visit the church (and snack bar!) on the way home.
• On both circuits there are a couple of steeper sections in the forest, but nothing too difficult. However, it would be best to avoid these trails when it is icy. In addition to the snack bar at the Dolany church, for refreshments after the walk it is worth stopping at brewery in Kozojedy (map point 12). They serve good food as well as their well-crafted beers.

Note: click ‘Show on map’ above to go to a full screen version directly on the mapy.cz site. This can be used for online navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file

Directions

• For the full 25 km walk (or the 11 km circuit to Krašov) start in Kozojedy center and walk northwards along the main road for 1.7 km to reach the Zimohráz junction. There, turn right onto the YELLOW trail, heading towards Krašov
• After 1.8 km reach the parking area next to the old farmhouse. This is the starting point for the 6 km circuit to Krašov (map point 3)
• Continue on the YELLOW trail for a further 1.7 km to reach the clearing just before the castle area. On the right side is an unmarked trail heading uphill to reach a fine viewpoint (the first picture below)
• Continue on the YELLOW trail to reach the castle entrance
• After visiting the castle drop down towards the Berounka river on the YELLOW trail
• After just over 100m descent, reach the Krašov trail junction. For the 6 km or 11 km circuits, turn right onto the BLUE trail heading towards Bohy
• If continuing on the full walk to the chapel at Dolany, turn left at the Krašov junction onto the GREEN trail, which leads to the access track for the chapel. There is a signpost at the turning off the GREEN trail to the right. The chapel is 300m from the turning
• Return back to the Krašov junction after visiting the chapel
• From Krašov trail junction take the BLUE trail towards Bohy
• If completing the 6 km circuit, after 2.3 km on the BLUE trail turn to the right after passing through Bohy village onto the side road which leads directly up to the car park by the farmhouse (reached after 900m)
• For those returning to Kozojedy, remain on the BLUE trail for a further 3 km to reach the town center